(Bloomberg) -- Robinhood Markets Inc. revealed just how explosive its growth was in the first quarter, including a surge in crypto-related revenue.
The free-trading app pulled in $522 million of revenue in the first three months of this year, up from $128 million in the same period in 2020, according to the S-1 filing from the Menlo Park, California-based firm.
A big part of that was retail traders jumping into stocks such as GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. But 17% of its transaction-based revenue in the first quarter came from cryptocurrencies, up from just 3% in the same period in 2020.
Robinhood said it allows customers to trade seven cryptocurrencies on the platform, but 34% of that revenue came from Dogecoin, which originated as a joke but has soared in value.
The documents offer potential investors their first comprehensive look at the popular trading app's financials. The co-founders, Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, also defended their customers and how they're portrayed for driving mania in the markets.
“We're proud to serve the next generation of investors, and it's painful to see them continually lambasted in media reports.”
The jump in cryptocurrency trading may also explain the appearance of Tai Mo Shan Ltd., a member of Jump Trading Group, as one of Robinhood's major market-making counterparties. Its share of Robinhood's transaction-based revenue jumped to 11% in the first quarter from 2% a year earlier. Jump Trading reportedly executes Robinhood's cryptocurrency transactions.
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